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It seems that for one reason or another I’ve spent a bit of time around Pittwater lately. A week or so ago I dropped in to a place I’d been wanting to check out for a while, the Waterfront Cafe at Church Point for lunch. I liked it so much I came back again for breakfast this last weekend.

Church Point Store and Waterfront Cafe

Right at the tip of Church Point, in a courtyard leading to the wharf, there is the Church Point Store and Waterfront Cafe.

As you walk into the building there is a tiny post office to the left, then a small general store with all of the essentials, leading on to an area where you can order take out food. The pastries, the pies and cakes, all look yummy. Sometime I’ll try some of them. And then on around to the right you head out to a deck overlooking Pittwater.

The place is rustic, but the touches like the flowers on some of the tables adds to feeling of being at home. And then there’s the superb view looking out across Pittwater, with so much activity continually, with people coming and going on their boats, their kayaks.

Last week I ordered the mezze plate, which was one of their pizzas topped with cheese, gorgeous by itself, served with dips. There were five generous mounds of dips: a beetroot one, an olive tapenade, a guacamole, a roasted capsicum one, and a spicy eggplant one with dukkah-type flavour.

I didn’t know exactly what I was getting, so it was a pleasant surprise, and better than I could have imagined.

Lunch dishes on the menu include seafood dishes, pizza, pasta, gourmet hamburgers and other dishes which vary from time to time.

This weekend, returning for breakfast, I ordered the mushroom medley.

It was a beautiful mixture of mushrooms, spinach, and roasted tomato, on woodfired wholegrain toast, topped with a perfectly poached egg, and drizzled with truffle oil.

The person I was with ordered the eggs florentine, poached eggs on spinach and woodfired toast, with hollandaise sauce. That, too, was tasty.

It was a perfect morning. What a great way to start the day, with tasty food, overlooking such a gorgeous view.

The Waterfront Cafe has jazz playing on Friday nights, and on the first Sunday afternoon, and other special meals at different times.

Scotland Island

After eating, on both of these visits to the Waterfront Cafe, I then hopped on the ferry just next door, to Scotland Island. The ferry goes on a 40-minute or so ride around the Island and over to the western foreshore of the Pittwater.

The best place to sit on the ferry is right up front there! It takes you by some incredible houses dotted around the Island, nestled in the trees. And then the views across the water, are picturesque.

The ferry master is friendly, and checks with you when you get on the ferry to see at which wharf you’d like to get off the boat. You could stop off somewhere like at the Tennis Court Wharf, and have a picnic at Katherine Park, or a swim at the beach, and then stroll across the island.

The ferry leaves about once an hour during the day on the weekends, and more frequently during the week. See the Church Point Ferry Service site for more details.

Details

Here are the details about Church Point General Store and Waterfront Cafe at time of posting. Please check their web site for more current details.

breakfast, from 6:30am every day; lunch, from 12:00 noon every day; dinner, Fri/Sat/Sun last order by 8:30pm, rest of the week order by 6:00pm

Menu

breakfast, average $10-$15; lunch, depends what you order, but probably in the $15-$20 range

This is one of my new favourite peaceful places to spend some time, overlooking the water. It has views, good food, places to walk, and the ferry tops it all off. Where do you like to to eat, with a view?

Finally we had a sunny day after lots of rain, so we had to get out in the sun, along with half of Sydney. We headed north to Palm Beach, to soak up the sun and the views. I’d long wanted to visit The Boat House, on the Pittwater side of Palm Beach, so it seemed a good day to do that.

On our way in to the cafe, our eyes boggled with the mass of flowers and decorator items on display, all superb quality.

With it being such a gorgeous day, the line for ordering was long, but we managed to find a table to sit, and just look around the cafe while we waited for lunch to arrive (which was surprisingly quick).

Every element of the cafe has been thoughtfully styled, with a casual but luxurious feel. The masses of flowers around, for sale, add to the atmosphere, along with the mix of tables with different textures, the combination of styles of chairs. All of the food we saw go by was well styled too, looking appetising.

And then there’s the superb view along Pittwater, with the water sparkling in the sun.

Our meals soon arrived. My friend ordered the chicken burger, which had been marinated, served with avocado, tomato, and tzatziki, and thick-cut fries.

We shared some crab cakes first, which were served with aioli. They were very light, fluffy, tasty.

And then I had to try the beer-battered fish (flathead) and chips, claimed to be the best on the northern beaches, and that just may well be true. The fish was firm but tender, almost sweet, with the batter perfect. The fries were almost crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. And, it was served with a very good home-made tartare sauce.

Other items on the menu which looked particularly good included a bucket of tiger prawns served with a home-made seafood sauce, or a dish with mussels, or a seafood platter (pacific oysters, kingfish sashimi, fresh tiger prawns, smoked trout and marinated olives), or burger which was huge, held together with a bamboo skewer (served with bacon, mixed lettuce, fresh tomato, caramelised onion, beetroot tapenade and tasty cheese). But everything looked good.

A good day to be outdoors.

The Boat House is suspended out over the Beach.

From here you can also catch a sea plane for scenic flights, or to restaurants, or over to Rose Bay.

I’ll certainly be back. Good, basic food, excellently prepared, in a stunning setting, in a place with relaxed style.